Surprises and New Allies
by Lord Mesron
Summary: Sequel to Wedding of Joyce and Giles. The group gets a surprise and finds some new allies in their fight.


1. The characters belong to WB (and/or UPN), Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon with the exception of Smitty. He's my creation.  
  
Surprises and New Allies  
  
by Scott R. Barnett  
  
It was a nice sunny Saturday morning and the college campus was full of happy people. This was due to it being Graduation day. The seniors of UC Sunnydale were finally finishing up the years of college and receiving their degrees.  
  
Amongst these graduates were five close friends. Xander Harris, Buffy Summers, Cordelia Chase, Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay. Their friends and families were there to see them graduate. There was even some jealousy from some of their friends. This was because three of their friends still had a year or two left before their graduation. These included Angel O'Rourke, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne and Amy Madison.  
  
Xander was graduating with a degree in Archeology. Buffy was getting her's in Anthropology. They both had specialized in the Mythical and Mystical aspects of their chosen field of study. Willow was graduating with a double major of Business and Computers. Tara was graduating in pre-med and Cordelia with pre-law. All of them were planning to continue on towards a graduate degree. Tara had been accepted into UCLA's medical school and would be commuting there from Sunnydale. Cordelia would be joining her at UCLA, but in their Law School. Willow would be staying at UC Sunnydale while she worked towards her MBA. The school had a good reputation for business degrees. They also had an excellent graduate school for archaeology and anthropology. Thus Xander and Buffy would also be staying at UC Sunnydale.  
  
In the last several month many things had changed in these friends' lives. Buffy's mother had married her Watcher. Her ex-love Angel had gotten engaged to Xander's ex-love Cordelia. Their friends Oz and Amy had also gotten engaged a couple of months ago and Willow and Tara had announced their engagement just two weeks ago.  
  
On top of all of the engagements, Angel and Cordy had also moved from L.A. back to Sunnydale. They had bought a house together. They also had both started interning at Chase Inc. while they finished their schooling.  
  
Willow's computer company had also taken off and she now had a staff of five employees working for her. She had borrowed some money from her parents and had leased a suite of offices in a building in town. She has since paid back the loan and was now running a very successful business. In addition to this she had also met with the Watchers Council three months ago. They had summoned her and Giles to England. The end result was that they liked what they saw in her and what they heard from Giles and his father and had made her a junior Watcher under the supervision of Rupert Giles. She was to assist him in his Watcher duties in regards to his slayer, Buffy Summers.  
  
Another interesting development was that they had found out that Mr. and Mrs. Chase had known about their activities. He had told Angel this and then Angel had let Cordy and the rest of them know. When carefully questioned it also turned out that Willow's parents knew. Willow's mom had seen some of their activity several years ago during that whole Hansel and Gretel episode. Willow and the rest had thought that she had repressed it, but it turned out that she and Willow's father had looked more into it.  
  
The Osbournes and the Madisons were less of a surprise. Oz's parents had been told of the fact that he was a werewolf by his Aunt and Uncle. They had kept their eyes open after this and had seen what truly was out there. Amy's father had known for a long time. He had known that Amy's mother, Catherine, had been a witch and that it had been a family tradition. He had seen the signs of it in Amy early on and looked into the people that she was hanging out with and what they were doing late at night.  
  
Only the Harris's were probably in the dark. Xander did not ask them and did not care. His home life had been lousy and he no longer kept in touch with his parents. As for Tara's parents, well they did not live in Sunnydale. Tara had moved here to attend college. She had told the rest of them that her mother's family had a long history of witchcraft though, so it was possible that her parents may know the truth of what was out there.  
  
The group had sat down one night at the Giles/Summers residence with the parents that knew and had talked about it. Though some of their parents had been a little annoyed at first that their children had kept this a secret from them, they all expressed their pride in them. The night ended well with all of the parents agreeing to keep these activities a secret and to support their children when needed. This was more in the form of moral and/or financial support. None of the gang wanted their parents to go out there and try to fight these monsters. The only exception to this was Buffy and Dawn's stepfather, Giles. He of course would be out there and had told the other parents that he was looking out for their children. He had explained to them about his role as the Watcher. He had also proudly told Willow's parents about her selection as a junior Watcher. They were very proud of her.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
That night after graduation the parents threw their children a party. It was being held at the Giles/Summers house. Everyone came and was having a great time.  
  
"This is a great party Mom." said Buffy.  
  
"Thanks. I'm so proud of you Buffy." said Joyce and then hugged her daughter.  
  
"I'm also very proud of you Buffy." said Giles. He also hugged her.  
  
Buffy and Dawn had adjusted to their Mom's marriage to Giles pretty easily. Buffy had looked at Giles as a father figure for several years and Dawn had liked him too. At times, though, it was like they had more than two children. Xander also tended to treat Joyce and Giles like his parents. They had always been closer to him than his own parents. The rest of the gang also tended to look up to Giles and Joyce for moral support. This was especially true before they knew that their parents had known about their activities. Joyce and Giles didn't mind though. They both adored all of the children.  
  
Xander finally arrived at the party. He had been a little late getting there due to running back to the house that he shared with some of the others. He had wanted to change and check on some things before coming over. He walked in and immediately went over to where the Summers and Giles were standing. He took Buffy into his arms and kissed her. He then got a hug from both Joyce and Giles in congratulations on his graduation. He even got a peck on the cheek from Dawn. She tended to treat him like a big brother. It was a role that Xander cherished. He loved Dawn like a little sister and was always doing stuff for her.  
  
The party went late into the night. By nine o'clock it had started to slow down. All of the parents had left, except for Giles and Joyce, of course. They had also moved inside at this point and were all sitting around the living room and talking. Xander dug a letter out of his pocket and got everyone's attention.  
  
"Hey everyone. I wanted let you all know about a letter that I received today. It's from the Army. I have to report to Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday."  
  
"Are they calling you up again?" asked a worried Buffy. The rest of them looked a little worried too. Xander had been called up for active duty four times since he had been back. Luckily the war in Afghanistan seemed to be winding down and there weren't too many other hot spots at this time. While they knew that Xander was happy to serve his country when asked, they didn't look forward to him being called up for active duty as it usually meant some type of covert operation. Life was dangerous enough here on the hellmouth. They all considered themselves to be one large family and always tried to look out for the welfare of any of their members.  
  
Xander looked around and saw the worried looks on everyone's faces. He smiled a warm smile and said, "No. Sorry about that. I didn't mean it to sound like that."  
  
"Then what is it?" asked Joyce, with a look of relief on her face.  
  
Xander handed the letter over to Buffy to see and said to the rest of them, "There will be a ceremony on Wednesday. Remember those classes and training that I was going through a few months ago at the base? Well it worked out. I am being promoted from Sergeant to Second Lieutenant. I finally made officer."  
  
Buffy jumped into his lap and kissed him passionately at this statement. The rest of the group also came over and congratulated him.  
  
"That's great Xander." said a proud Giles. He had thought of Xander as a son for a long time now and was proud of his accomplishment.  
  
"Congratulations!" said Joyce and gave him a peck on the cheek.  
  
After everyone sat down, Xander looked at all of them.  
  
"Anyone doing anything on Wednesday? I'd really love to have all of you there for the ceremony. We could spend a few days there afterwards. The base isn't very far from the outer banks." said Xander.  
  
They all talked about it and determined that they could all get the time off. Xander said that he would make the arrangements tomorrow.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Tuesday arrived and the whole gang, including Joyce and Giles, were on an airplane heading for North Carolina. They arrived and picked up the rental cars that they had arranged for and drove to their hotel. After they checked in they went out and looked for a place to have dinner.  
  
"Tomorrow morning I have to check in at the base at 0900 hours. The ceremony doesn't start until 1100 hours. Guests are allowed onto the base starting at 1000 hours." said Xander.  
  
They enjoyed their dinner and then went back to hotel to get some rest from the long plane ride. It had been an afternoon flight and the time difference had taken its toll on most of them.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
It was 0900 hours and Xander, in dress uniform, reported to the assigned officer at the base.  
  
"Sgt. Alexander Harris reporting, Sir." said Xander.  
  
"At ease." said the Major. "Here is where you will sit for the ceremony. You will line up here with the other successful candidates and will march in at 1100 hours."  
  
Xander then left the Major's office and walked over to his old c.o.'s office. He walked in and asked if the Colonel was in. The answer was affirmative and he was told to go in.  
  
"Good to see you again Sir." said Xander.  
  
"Good to see you too Sgt. Harris." said Colonel Johnson. "Congratulations on your promotion to 2nd Lt."  
  
"Thank you sir."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
At 1100 hours the successful officer candidates walked into the ceremony and took their seats. After several speeches they each walked up to the podium and received their 2nd Lt. bars from the base commander, General Richman.  
  
After the ceremony was over they were dismissed and allowed to get together with their friends and families that had gathered there for the ceremony.  
  
Buffy and the group walked over to him and Buffy jumped into his arms and kissed him in ways of congratulations. Giles walked over and helped Xander pin the lieutenant bars onto his uniform. He then held Xander back at arms length and took a good look at him.  
  
"Those bars look good on you Xander." said Giles.  
  
"Thanks." said Xander.  
  
General Richman and Colonel Johnson were mingling with the new officers and had walked up to them.  
  
"General, Colonel allow me to introduce you to my fiancé, Buffy Summers." said Xander. He also introduced the rest of them.  
  
The General and Colonel said that they were pleased to meet them and they talked briefly before they moved on.  
  
They decided to walk around town for the a little bit. There was a dinner for them that night on the base. They would all be attending.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
That night after dinner they were walking out of the base when Oz suddenly stopped. He turned his head from side to side sniffing the air. Buffy also was carefully looking around. The rest of them knew what this meant. There were vampires or demons in the area. They quickly exited the base and stood just out of sight and earshot of the guard post.  
  
"They're across the street in the park. There are at least ten of them." said Oz.  
  
"I agree." said Buffy. "Mom, Dawn please stay here. Willow and Tara you stay and guard them. The rest of you come with me."  
  
They quickly walked across to the park while readying their weapons. They made sure to have silencers on since they were so close to the base. They quickly saw the vampires. They were moving towards several people. They appeared to be some of the other new officers and their families.  
  
"Shit. We have to get the victims out of there. All right, skip the guns and go to hand weapons. While Xander, Angel, Oz, Giles and myself attack the vampires, Cordy, you and Amy get the victims to safety." said Buffy.  
  
They all nodded and quietly moved towards the vampires. They then quickly attacked them while Cordy and Amy moved to the victims.  
  
"All of you please come with us for your safety." said Cordelia. The people did as they were told. They were too in shock to do otherwise.  
  
The rest of them attacked the vampires quickly and efficiently. They quickly whittled away at their numbers. Buffy snap kicked one in the throat while she stabbed forward with her stake at another one. She then turned around and got the one that she had kicked.  
  
Xander took out a couple of wooden knives and threw one of them into the heart of a vampire, dusting it. He then grabbed another and swung it into his other knife. Oz had half changed into his wolf form and ripped out the vampire's heart with his powerful claws. Giles shot two of them with his cross bow and Angel staked two more of them. Oz got the last one when he fully changed and bit the vampire's head off. He then changed back to his human form and coughed a little from the dust. They then regrouped and walked back to their hotel.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
The next morning the group had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and then went their separate ways for the day. They would regroup later for dinner. Angel, Cordy, Oz and Amy were heading to the beach. Dawn went with them. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Tara, Joyce and Giles, though, were headed to a near by museum. There was a travelling exhibit on ancient Sumeria that most of them wanted to check out. Joyce and Tara just went along with them. They weren't particularly interested in the Sumerian exhibit but figured that there would be something there to interest them.  
  
After a full morning at the museum they went to a local diner in town for some lunch. They were sitting there talking about the exhibit while they were finishing their meals.  
  
"I wonder what they want?" said Xander, suddenly.  
  
"Who?" asked Buffy.  
  
"The two M.P.s headed our way." said Xander.  
  
The two M.P.s stopped at the table and faced Xander. They saluted him and he saluted back.  
  
"Can I help you soldiers?" asked Xander.  
  
"Yes, Sir. General Richman would like to speak with you. He told us to tell you that it has to do with the events of last night." said one of them.  
  
"When does he wish to meet?"  
  
"He said to arrange it at your earliest convenience."  
  
Xander looked around the table in silent communication. The rest of the party nodded back to him.  
  
"We'll come with you now."  
  
"We only have orders to ask you to meet him."  
  
"That's alright. I'll take responsibility for my friends here. They are important to this meeting. Please go back to the base and inform the general that we will be there in fifteen minutes."  
  
"Yes Sir." they said and saluted him. He saluted back and they walked away.  
  
"Well, I guess we weren't as quiet as we thought last night." said Xander.  
  
"Yeah. What do we do now?" asked Tara.  
  
"Well we have to go and see what the general suspects. I don't want to go in there with the whole group though. Joyce, why don't you and Tara go back to the hotel and contact the others to let them know what happened. Tell them not to bother coming back early until we know more. The four of us will go to the meeting. We'll contact you as soon as we can." said Xander.  
  
The rest of them agreed to the plan.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
The four of them walked back to the base. They checked through the guard post and made their way to the general's office. They arrived and Xander informed the General's aide that they were expected. The aide escorted them to a conference room and told them to go on in. Xander led the way in and found only General Richman and Colonel Johnson there.  
  
Xander came to attention, saluted the two officers and said, "Lt. Harris reporting as ordered Sirs."  
  
"At ease Lieutenant." said the General and waved the group to some chairs around the table.  
  
"Lt. Harris, we would like an explanation as to what happened last night in the park across from this base. We would also like to know why you brought these three people with you. We have already heard from the two officers that were also there and from the guards that were on duty at the front gate." said the General.  
  
Xander took a quick look at his companions and they all nodded their heads. "I will speak bluntly Sir. The two officers and their families were attacked by vampires. These vampires would have killed those people. My group and I are experienced in dealing with these types of creatures. We moved in as soon as we saw them and eliminated the threat. As for my three companions here I asked them along for this very reason. They are all members of a group that has been dealing with this threat for centuries."  
  
The General and Colonel looked at each other while Xander was speaking. They considered his words carefully and compared them to the descriptions of the attackers that they had been given.  
  
The General turned back to the group. "Let's say we believe you that they were vampires. Where did you learn to fight them and what group are these three a part of."  
  
Xander smiled and said, "General, if you don't mind I will let Mr. Giles answer that."  
  
"Very good. Please go ahead Mr. Giles." said General Richman.  
  
"Good afternoon gentleman. My name is Rupert Giles. As for what group my two companions and I belong to, it is a secret group that has existed for centuries fighting against the darkness. Its name is the Council of Watchers. I am a Watcher. Miss Rosenberg here is a junior Watcher under my supervision. Our job is to find, train and assist the Slayer in her fight. The slayer is one girl in all of the world. A chosen one. She has the strength and ability to fight the vampires and demons that inhabit the darkness. Miss Summers here is the Slayer for this generation. They are usually girls around the age of fifteen or sixteen. Miss Summers started seven years ago when she was fifteen. While most Slayers in the past worked alone, with only the help of their Watcher, Miss Summers has several friends that have helped her over the years. This is the reason that she has become one of the greatest Slayers in history and has survived this long. Most Slayers do not survive more than a year after being chosen. Just so that you understand, we Watchers do not choose the Slayer. The powers-that-be does this. We merely locate them, train them and assist them in their fight. Lt. Harris here is one of those that has dedicated himself to the fight and has assisted Miss Summers since she first moved to Sunnydale, CA. Him and Miss Rosenberg were the first to find out and help, others came along as time moved on. Miss Rosenberg has just recently joined the Council, but has been a part of this fight as long as Lt. Harris has."  
  
The General and Colonel looked slightly stunned at all of this.  
  
"Where do you battle this darkness?" asked the Colonel.  
  
"Mainly in Sunnydale, CA. That town is located on top of a mystical portal called the Hellmouth. It is the last remaining door to Hell. As a result, the town tends to draw in all types of demons." said Giles.  
  
"What about other areas of the world?"  
  
"Unfortunately we do not have the resources to handle that. We must fight where we can do the most good."  
  
The General and Colonel talked quietly to themselves for a few minutes. They then turned back to the group.  
  
"Lt. Harris, would you mind coming back this evening for another meeting? We have much to discuss and would like some time to consider what your group has told us."  
  
"Certainly Sir. I will bring the rest of our group with me at that time."  
  
They agreed to meet at seven o'clock. The group left and made their way back to the hotel. They got back just in time to see the beach group pull in.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
After an early dinner they walked back to the base. They were escorted into the same conference room. The only difference was that there more military personnel there this time.  
  
"Good evening ladies and gentleman." said General Richman.  
  
"Good evening Sir." said Xander as he came to attention and saluted.  
  
"At ease. Please take a seat." said the General. "Allow me to introduce my officers to you." He went around the table introducing them.  
  
"Lt. Harris, would you be so kind to introduce your group?"  
  
"Certainly Sir. Starting on my right is Buffy Summers, Dawn Summers, Joyce Summers Giles, Rupert Giles, Tara Maclay, Willow Rosenberg, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, Amy Madison, Cordelia Chase, Angel O'Rourke and I'm Lt. Alexander Harris."  
  
"Thank you. The Colonel and myself have briefed the officers on what happened last night, as well as what you told us earlier."  
  
"I must ask you gentlemen to keep what we have and will tell you to as few people as possible. The secrets that we keep could put many people's live into danger if they fell into the wrong hands." said Giles.  
  
"I assure you sir that we will do this. This meeting is about saving lives, not endangering them." said the General.  
  
"Thank you." said Giles.  
  
"One of the things that we would like to ask is how is your group qualified to handle these threats? Why haven't you called upon the military or law enforcement to take care of them?" asked the General.  
  
Giles took a quick look around his group and everyone nodded their heads to him. He then turned back to the officers.  
  
"The people in this group each have their own talents. These are some of the secrets that I spoke about earlier. Starting with my stepdaughter Buffy, she is what is known as the Slayer. As I explained earlier she has been given the strength, stamina, and agility to fight evil. Willow and I are her Watchers. We train and assist the Slayer in her fight against the evil. I am also a fighter and a mage. Willow, Tara and Amy are fairly powerful witches. Angel has the strength and stamina of a vampire, though he is human. Oz is a werewolf, but he is also a competent fighter in his human form. Cordelia and Xander are both normal humans, but through several years of experience they have become competent fighters. As for my wife, Joyce, and my stepdaughter Dawn, they do not normally fight. They help us with the research, but they will stay in when we go out to fight."  
  
The officers all looked stunned at this. That is all of them except one. A young looking Lieutenant started laughing. "You can't expect us to believe this load of crap that you just told us. How can you put women out on the front lines in a fight? They might break a nail or something. Why I would think that this 'slayer' girl would probably run at the first sign of trouble, and that red head would probably faint."  
  
Suddenly a low growl filled the room and everyone got real quiet. Another growl started and everyone turned to look at Oz who was leaning forward on the table staring at the Lieutenant. His hair was starting to grow and his canines appeared to be getting longer.  
  
"Amy, please try to calm him down." said Buffy quickly.  
  
Amy put her arms around him and pulled him back and started talking softly into his ear. He seemed to be calming down some, but not a lot. Buffy and Willow got up and walked over to him. They kneeled down in front of him. He sniffed at their hands and then he sat back and reversed the change. The girls sat back down, relieved.  
  
Xander started laughing. "I can't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to tick off a werewolf on the night of a full moon."  
  
Angel got up and said, "Oz, would you, Giles, Amy and Buffy join me outside a moment."  
  
After they walked out and closed the door Angel turned to them and said, "Oz you need to hunt. It is the only way that you are going to be able to keep absolute control over your wolf. I know that you do not like to hunt, and rarely do, but with the full moon tonight you have even less control than you normally would. That's why it took all three of them to calm you down. I will go with you and make sure that you only hunt animals. We'll come back as soon as your hunting lust is satisfied."  
  
Oz looked at Giles, Amy and Buffy and they nodded. He turned to Angel and simply said, "Let's go."  
  
They walked off and Giles, Amy and Buffy walked back into the room.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
When they walked back in the rest of the room looked up. They nodded back to their group and sat down.  
  
"What just happened here?" asked General Richman.  
  
Giles looked at him and said, "The Lieutenant here just verbally attacked specific members of our group. This is not wise to begin with, but it was worse tonight as it is the night of the full moon. As I said before, Oz is a werewolf. What you should have been wondering is why was he sitting here in human form, if it is a full moon outside. That is because he has had a spell placed on him to allow him control over his wolf side. Even during the three nights of the full moon he can stop himself from changing. The problem is on these nights the moon's pull is the strongest, and thus he has the least amount of control. Add to this that he does not like to give into his wolf side and hunt. He rarely does this. Since he has not done so recently it weakened his control even more."  
  
"Ok. But what did you mean by specific people?"  
  
"While we all consider ourselves to be a family, Oz's wolf side sees us as his pack. He has a very special relationship with three individuals in this group. Buffy, as the slayer is our leader, thus he would see her as his pack leader. Willow was his first love and Amy is his fiancé. These would be to him his former mate and current mate. He is fiercely loyal to and protective of all of us, but even more so to these three ladies. When the Lieutenant insulted their abilities, he took it as an attack. Any wolf will fight to the death to defend their pack from attack. As you can see it took all three of them to calm him down from his agitated state. He is also very protective towards Joyce and Dawn. All wolves in a pack will look out for the young of the pack. To him that also includes watching out for the safety of the young's mother. Angel and him have left the base so that he can hunt in his wolf state. When they are done they will return. He will have more control at that time. Had I known that he had not hunted recently I would have insisted that he done so before coming here. Angel is more than capable of watching over him while he is hunting animals. There is no reason to worry for the safety of the local population." said Giles.  
  
"Taking into account what Giles has just told you, please be careful of what you say about our group when he gets back." asked Buffy.  
  
At that point Angel and Oz returned. They came in and sat down. Other than a decidedly unfriendly glare at the lieutenant Oz did not say a word.  
  
"Perhaps if we could see some type of demonstration of your powers there won't be any more problems." suggested the Colonel.  
  
Buffy looked at the others and they all nodded their heads. Willow and Tara got up and facing each other they started throwing energy balls back and forth. Amy got up and took out a wooden stake. She placed it onto the table and changed it into a solid iron rod. Buffy took the rod and asked the Colonel to try to bend it. He could not. She took it back and easily bent it into a right angle. She handed it to Angel who bent it back into a straight rod. Giles then changed that rod back to a wooden stake. Oz then got up. Everyone watched him carefully. He stood up straight and began to change. He completed his change and stood there as a massive werewolf. At that point Giles changed the wooden stake back into the iron rod. Oz grabbed it in his powerful jaws and bit it cleanly in half. He changed back to human form and sat back down. He did all of this without uttering a single word. All of the military personnel just sat there looking stunned at this display.  
  
"My word." said Colonel Johnson.  
  
"What about Miss Chase and Lt. Harris?" asked General Richman.  
  
"As we stated earlier, Cordelia and myself are pure warriors. We do not have any special powers, but we do have a lot of knowledge of what is out there and experience fighting it." said Xander.  
  
The lieutenant looked over to the group and said, "My apologies for my earlier remarks. I was clearly wrong and apologize for my comments."  
  
Oz and the rest of them nodded back.  
  
"Well now that we have gotten all of this out of the way lets discuss the reasons that I asked you to come back. I have discussed these events with my superior at the Pentagon and we would like to start a black operations group to assist in the fight against the darkness. This group would be able to travel wherever it is needed. We would like to ask for your assistance in training such a group. What do you think?" asked General Richman.  
  
"Can you give us a few minutes to discuss this amongst ourselves?" asked Giles.  
  
"Certainly. We will be back in ten minutes." With that the military officers walked out of the room.  
  
"What do you think Buffy?" asked Giles.  
  
"It might be a good idea. Like you said earlier we can't be every where. We tend to take care of Sunnydale and the near by towns. This group would be able to respond wherever they were needed." said Buffy.  
  
"How about you Giles?" asked Xander.  
  
"I tend to agree with Buffy. They appear to be sincere about there intentions, unlike the Initiative." said Giles.  
  
"I would agree with you." said Xander.  
  
Exactly ten minutes later the officers reentered the room and sat down.  
  
"We will help you General." said Buffy.  
  
"Great. Let's work out the details." said General Richman.  
  
They talked for the next hour working out the details. One of these details was that the group would train in Sunnydale. Towards the end the Colonel pulled out a number of folders from his brief case.  
  
"Lt. Harris, would you look through these personnel folders and give us your opinion on whether they would be good candidates for this group?"  
  
"Certainly Sir."  
  
Xander took the folders and looked through them with the help of Buffy, Giles and Willow. They started sorting them into two stacks. When they got to one of them Giles sat back with a thoughtful look on his face.  
  
"What's up Giles? What's interesting about this one?" asked Willow.  
  
"I think I recognize the name. Could you look him up in the Watcher's database, Willow?" asked Giles.  
  
"Sure." said Willow. She took out her laptop, which she had brought with her, and using her satellite modem she called up the database. This was a database that she had put together for use by the Watchers. It had a lot of reference material on it, message boards for communications purposes, e- mail and contact lists. They had hired some people at headquarters to add to it and maintain it after she had built it. She had been paid handsomely for the work.  
  
She looked up the name and found it. "Here he is Giles. Just as you thought. He's a field Watcher."  
  
"You mean that one of our men belongs to your organization?" asked the General.  
  
"Yes. Lt. Jonathon Smythe. It appears that he's a field Watcher. We have Watchers all over the world. They help in researching possible threats, as well as wait to see if a new Slayer is chosen in their area." replied Giles.  
  
"I would suggest that you add this person to this group." said Xander.  
  
When they were done with the folders they handed them back to the Colonel.  
  
"This pile are the ones that we would recommend." said Xander.  
  
"Thank you for your assistance. We will put together this group and then will contact you to setup the training. I will talk to Colonel Rogers at the base in Sunnydale to arrange quarters for the men. Does the Colonel know about your activities, Lt. Harris?" asked General Richman.  
  
"No Sir. We use the firing range and gymnasium there for our training, but he thinks that I am only teaching my friends and family self-defense." said Xander.  
  
"Very good. We'll come up with something to tell him." said the General.  
  
They finished their discussions and then they broke for the night. The Scooby gang was flying home the next day. Before they left, though, Xander introduced the General and Colonel to Smitty. He explained how he and Smitty had created the Wooden and Silver bullets. The General agreed to use Smitty as their supplier for this ammo. Smitty had also added Wooden and Silver knives to his inventory. Xander purchased several of them.  
  
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A couple of weeks later Xander received a call from General Richman telling him that the group would be arriving on Saturday. He was told that a Major Steven Albright was leading the group. The Major would contact him when they had arrived to arrange a meeting with him and his group.  
  
It was now mid-June and Xander hoped that it would not take more than a month to train them. His and Buffy's wedding was scheduled for early August and they were taking a week cruise for their honeymoon.  
  
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At five o'clock on Saturday, Xander and the group drove onto the Sunnydale military base and parked by one of the buildings. They had arranged to meet in one of the large conference rooms before going out on patrol. They walked into the room to find ten men dressed in casual clothes. One of the men walked up to them.  
  
"Lt. Harris? I'm Major Albright."  
  
"Good evening Major. Please allow me to introduce my group." said Xander. "Starting on my right is our leader Buffy Summers, then Tara Maclay, Willow Rosenberg, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, Amy Madison, Cordelia Chase, Angel O'Rourke, Dawn Summers, Joyce Summers Giles, and Rupert Giles. Joyce and Dawn do not normally fight with us, but do help out with the research."  
  
"Very good. Allow me to introduce my men." said the Major. He went around the table and introduced them. It turned out that the men were all Special Forces.  
  
"Now, I understand from General Richman that some of your group has extraordinary powers. Could we get a demonstration now, rather than being surprised by it in the field?" asked the Major.  
  
"Certainly Major." replied Buffy. With that she took out an iron rod from the bag that she was carrying and asked the Major to check it out.  
  
"It appears to be a solid iron rod." said the Major.  
  
Buffy took it back and bent it easily into a circle. She handed it to Angel who straightened it out. Willow gestured at the soldiers and they suddenly found themselves floating in the air. Tara gestured and they were back in their seats. Amy and Giles tossed some lightning bolts back and forth. Oz then stood up. He slowly changed into his wolf form. He took the iron rod into his massive jaws and bit it in half. He then changed back and sat down.  
  
The soldiers looked at the group in awe.  
  
"That was impressive. What about the other members?" said the Major.  
  
"We do not have any special powers. We are strictly fighters, but with several years of experience." replied Xander.  
  
They talked for a while more about the different types of demons that they have encountered and how to kill them. The Scoobies explained how to kill vampires with stakes and wooden or silver bullets. They also told them that cutting off the vampire's head will also work. Giles then went on to explain about the role of the Slayer and the Watchers. They then went to get some dinner before going on patrol.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
After dinner they drove to Weatherly Park. All of people assembled, except Dawn and Joyce who had returned home.  
  
"Ok. Here's how it will work. We'll split into three groups. Willow, Tara and myself will take one group of soldiers. Xander, Oz and Amy will take another. The third group will be Giles, Angel and Cordelia with the rest of the men. Major please break up your men into three groups." said Buffy.  
  
After the Major split up his men two of the groups moved onto other places around town. Xander's group went to one of the cemeteries.  
  
"The cemeteries, of course, are a great place to find vampires. One of the things we usually do is to check out the obituaries and police reports before going out on patrol. If a recent death sounds suspicious then we will stake out the grave to see if the person will rise as a vampire. Over time you will be able to tell pretty quickly whether they will or not. We're not always correct, but we usually are." said Xander.  
  
They walked up to a particular fresh grave. "Take Mr. Smith here. His death was ruled drug gang related. That is one of the usual cover stories for a vampire attack here in Sunnydale. This happened two days ago. It usually takes 24 to 48 hours for a new vampire to rise. Let's wait here for a little bit and see what happens. While we're waiting Oz, Amy or myself will be happy to answer any questions that you might have."  
  
"How did you three get involved with this fight?" asked one of the men.  
  
"Well as for myself I met Buffy on her first day of school here at Sunnydale High. That night she rescued my two best friends, Willow and a guy named Jesse, and myself. Unfortunately during the fight to get out of the vampire master's lair Jesse got recaptured and turned into a vampire. I had to stake him. Since then Willow and I have stood by Buffy and Giles in their fight. Oz and Amy got involved in the fight a little later on." said Xander.  
  
Just then there was a noise from the grave. Suddenly two hands shot through the ground. Then the vampire pulled the rest of himself through. It started to move to attack the group standing there. Xander gave it a kick to the gut, which doubled the vampire over. Oz quickly moved in and shoved a stake through its back into its heart. The vampire quickly turned to dust.  
  
"And that is how to kill a vampire." said Xander.  
  
"Why did it turn to dust?" asked another soldier.  
  
"When you kill the demon inside of the vampire the body reverts to its basic components." replied Xander.  
  
They started walking further through the cemetery when the heard some talking. Xander hushed the group and crept forward towards the talking. He saw five vampires walking towards them. The leader of them was talking to the others about picking up the new vampire it had made two days ago and then they would go meet up with the others.  
  
Xander crept back to his team and quietly told them about this. They decided to spread out some and surround the vampires. They did this. When Xander saw that the vampires had reached the right spot he stepped out of the bushes.  
  
"Good evening. You gentleman going somewhere?" asked Xander. The rest of the group then stepped out and surrounded them.  
  
"Get them! They're with the slayer!" yelled the lead vampire.  
  
"Kill them all except the loud mouth." yelled Xander.  
  
Amy shot out her hands and a lightning bolt flew at one of the vampires. The vampire screamed as it turned to dust. The three soldiers ran forward and attacked the other vampires. Sgt. Brown grabbed one vampire and whipped him around at Oz, who had changed into his wolf form. Oz quickly grabbed the vampire's neck in his jaws and bit its head off. The vampire turned to dust. The two corporals ganged up on a second one. While one kicked the vampire in the gut the other stabbed forward with his stake and stabbed it through the back, dusting it. Xander shot the third one with a wooden bullet. While this was happening Amy and Oz kept the leader trapped between them.  
  
Xander signaled for the two corporals to grab hold of the vampire. He then walked up to it.  
  
"Alright meat. You're going to tell us where you were headed and I'll make it quick. If you don't I'll let my friend Oz here tear you apart slowly. He'll make sure that you scream in pain for a long time before you turn to dust." said Xander.  
  
The vampire looked over at Oz, who was staring at him like a piece of meat and salivating. The vampire gulped.  
  
"Alright, I'll tell you. Just keep him away from me. We were supposed to meet up with a larger group and attack the slayer's house. The new master wants the slayer out of the way."  
  
"How many vampires?"  
  
"Fifty. We were to drive the slayer out of her house with Molotov cocktails. We were told we could take her mother and sister, but the master wants the slayer for himself."  
  
"The master's not from around here is he?"  
  
"No. He's new to town."  
  
"That's what I thought. Moron. She doesn't live there anymore. Where are you supposed to meet?"  
  
"Revello Drive and 4th street."  
  
With that Xander moved forward and stabbed the vampire in the heart with a wooden knife. He then whipped out his phone and called Giles.  
  
"Giles, there's a new master in town. He's going to attack your house. He thinks that Buffy still lives there. The vampires are amassing on Revello and 4th. Get your group over there and I'll call Buffy and tell her. You might want to call home and tell Joyce and Dawn to get to the basement. It will be the safest place."  
  
"Alright."  
  
He hung up and called Buffy.  
  
"Buffy. Get your team to Revello and 4th. There's a group of vampires amassing there to attack your mom's house. A new master in town thinks you still live there. I already called Giles and his team is heading there now. We're also on our way. Giles is going to call your mom and tell her to take Dawn and herself down to the basement. They're planning on using Molotov cocktails. There's supposed to be about fifty vampires."  
  
"Meet you there."  
  
He hung up the phone.  
  
"Ok. Let's get going. We have to rush. We're the farthest away."  
  
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They arrived at the location and saw the vampires. They also spotted the rest of the gang in the bushes near by. They crept over there and talked to them.  
  
"How do you want to handle this?" asked Xander.  
  
"Major, any of your men snipers?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Yes. Three of them. They have rifles with them in the truck which is just a block over." replied the Major.  
  
"Good. Have them go get them." said Buffy. The three men rushed off.  
  
"Xander, do you have yours?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Yep, here it is." said Xander. He unslung it from his back. By this time the men had returned with their rifles.  
  
"Good. Load up with the wooden bullets and get in the trees. Accuracy counts gentleman. Start picking off targets when the fight begins. Keep the vampires together in this intersection. Don't let any of them get away. The rest of us will surround them. On my mark we will attack. Giles, you join the snipers with your crossbow. Amy, Willow and Tara, you girls let your spells fly, just be careful of the rest of us. Oz, I don't think I need to tell you what to do. The rest of us will start with handguns and then get up close and personal when they get too close. Let's go. Leave the master to me." said Buffy.  
  
They crept around until they were completely surrounding the vampires. The snipers were all in place in the trees. Xander had helped Giles up one. Oz changed into his wolf form. On Buffy's signal he let out a terrifying howl and flew into the pack of vampires, teeth and claws first.  
  
The snipers started picking off the vampires along the outside of the group. The rest of the gang lined up and started shooting at them.  
  
"Get them! Leave the Slayer alone. She's mine." said the master.  
  
"Thanks for identifying yourself bozo." muttered Buffy.  
  
Buffy tried to aim for the master vampire, but others kept getting in the way. Pretty soon they were too close for the guns and they had to drop them and go to stakes and wooden knives. Oz was viciously tearing apart vampires left and right. These vampires had threatened the young of the pack, Dawn, and her mother. There would be no survivors amongst them if he had his way. Anytime a vampire tried to run away from him it was picked off by Xander. He was the closest sniper to where Oz was. He kept having to re-aim due to Oz moving around, but Xander was a marksman so this was not a problem.  
  
Willow, Tara and Amy stayed back a little and were dolling out lightning bolts and energy balls at the vampires. Angel, Cordy and the soldiers were in the thick of it and Buffy was fighting her way to the master. She finally got there.  
  
"Hello. It's now time to beat the crap out of you for threatening my family." said Buffy.  
  
"Very funny little girl. I don't think you realize whom you're dealing with though. I'm over 900 years old. I have never lost a fight. I have more power then you will ever see." gloated the master.  
  
"That may be, but you also have the biggest mouth I have ever heard." replied Buffy.  
  
She kicked at him. He blocked the kick and knocked her aside with his arm. She recovered and punched him in the face. She followed this up with a leg sweep. He jumped back, avoiding the leg sweep and kicked her in the gut. She went down, but before he could follow up his move she rolled away and got back up. She then punched him in the stomach and kicked him in the groin. He went down. She then pulled out a stake and tried to stab him. He rolled away and swept out with his arm to trip her. She fell to the ground. He jumped on top of her and started wrestling her for the stake. Just as he was about to take it away from her, another vampire that was thrown that way by Oz knocked him off of her. That vampire got up, but was immediately dusted by a shot from Xander. Buffy took this opportunity to press her attack on the master. Just as he was getting up she grabbed one arm and swung him around. She then followed that up with another groin kick. As he doubled over she slammed a stake into his heart. He jerked once and turned to dust.  
  
Buffy then jumped back into the rest of the fight. By this point there were only about ten vampires left. Two of them attacked her. One of the two suddenly let go as a bolt from Giles's crossbow dusted him. Buffy staked the other one. Two of the soldiers ganged up on one of them near her and one of them pushed it towards the other one who had a stake ready. The vampire neatly impaled itself on the stake. Five more turned to dust around her when the snipers each got one. Angel and Cordy took care of one more and the last one tried to run away. Oz saw this and ran after it. The order for that night was no quarter. There would be no vampires escaping this fight. Pretty soon everyone heard the screams in the distance. A second later they heard a loud howl. Shortly thereafter Oz walked out of the bushes and back to the group, once again in human form.  
  
Everyone stopped a moment to catch a breath and then looked around to make sure there were no more vampires in the area. They then walked down the street to the Summers/Giles residence. Giles opened the door and yelled inside that everything was ok. Joyce and Dawn quickly came up from the basement and ran over to them. Joyce hugged Giles and Buffy gave Dawn a reassuring hug. Oz then asked if anyone had a breath mint. Everyone just stared at him for a moment and then cracked up. All of the tension of the fight just drifted away.  
  
Everyone sat down in the living room and discussed the evening. Joyce and Dawn got everyone drinks.  
  
"Well that was an interesting evening. It was a pleasure to see your group in action Miss Summers. Now I see how you have survived so long fighting these things. I'm also glad that my group was able to get some real life experience so quickly." said Major Albright.  
  
"Thank you. I think the best idea for the training would be for your group to continue to patrol with ours. We will discuss some different tactics during the day and try to get your men comfortable with the various types of demons that we have faced. Also, I think Lt. Smythe should spend some time with Giles and Willow. They can acquaint him with the resources we use for research." said Buffy.  
  
"That is an excellent idea. I will have Corporal Jameson join the Lieutenant. He is very good at researching and I want him to be able to assist Lt. Smythe in that area." said the Major.  
  
After a little more talking the Major and his men left to head back to the base. A little while later the rest of them also took their leave and headed back to their homes.  
  
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A month later the Major and his men were ready to go out on their own. They traded contact information and agreed to stay in touch. Willow and Lt. Smythe would be trading e-mails back and forth sharing information on the types of evil that each group encountered. The whole gang saw the soldiers off.  
  
END 


End file.
